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Real Madrid forward Gonzalo Higuain is full of confidence ahead of his side’s Copa del Rey round-of-16 second-leg match at Malaga on Tuesday.

Real recorded a 3-2 win at home in the first leg, and the Argentina international believes the team has the right game plan in place for the clash at La Rosaleda.

“We’re confident we can reach the quarter-finals,” Higuain said.

“It’s important to have a victory advantage in the return leg, because Malaga will have to try for a win and one of our best weapons is our ability to counterattack.”

“Malaga are a good side and they complicated things for us in the first leg, but our games against them always turn out well for us. It may not have been the case at first in our previous clash, but we managed to finish it in the second half.”

Barcelona or Osasuna await in the quarter-finals and Higuain warned his potential rivals that Real are aiming to defend their crown.

“We would like to win the Copa del Rey again,” the 24-year-old said.

“Real Madrid had not won it in a very long time until last year. It would make us immensely happy to win it two years running. I hope we can reach the final one step at a time and win the title again.”

Tue 10 January, 2012

Arsenal legend Thierry Henry has admitted that he never imagined scoring the winner in his loan side’s FA Cup third round clash with Leeds.

The former France international came on as a second-half substitute to mark his return to the club on loan from the New York Red Bulls, tucking away the game’s only goal in the 77th minute.

“I never thought I would play for Arsenal again, and I never thought I would score the winning goal tonight,” the forward told ESPN after the match.

He responded modestly when told of his welcome, responding to suggestions that he returned as a hero by adding: “That wasn’t the plan. I just wanted to come and help the team every day.”

Henry said he understood the importance of taking his chance in front of goal against a stingy Leeds defence, when he was put through by Alex Song.

“With time, you know that one opportunity is very important,” the Red Bulls striker said.

“The team played well. It’s never an easy tie. They (Leeds) came to defend and the fans were frustrated sometimes, but we did the job.”

“You never know when you will have a second one, if you have a second. You have to make sure you take it, and I took it well.”

The 1-0 win sends Arsenal through to the fourth round of the FA Cup, where they will take on Premier League rivals Aston Villa at the Emirates Stadium.

Tue 10 January, 2012

Barcelona’s Lionel Messi has claimed the FIFA Ballon d’Or for the third year running, being named the best player in 2011 in Zurich on Monday.

Messi beat team-mate Xavi and rival Cristiano Ronaldo to win the illustrious award.

The Argentine forward was the clear favourite to claim the title after helping Barca to a third straight La Liga title in 2011 and a second Champions League success in three years.

Messi beat team-mates Andres Iniesta and Xavi to the award in 2010, even though his colleagues had starred for Spain in their World Cup success in South Africa.

This time around there appeared little doubt he would claim the prize, as the undoubted star of a Barca side dominating domestically and on the continent in 2010-11.

Barca claimed La Liga and the Champions League last term, losing out to Real Madrid only in the final of the Copa del Rey in April, when Ronaldo rose to head the winner and secure his side’s first silverware since 2007-08.

Messi enjoyed the last laugh over his Portuguese rival in 2011, however, claiming five trophies overall with Barca as the Catalans picked up the Spanish Supercopa, the UEFA Super Cup and the World Club Cup later in the year.

The 24-year-old has now drawn level with three-time winners Michel Platini (the only other player to win three in a row), Johan Cruyff and Marco van Basten.

Mon 9 January, 2012

Bayern Munich manager Jupp Heynckes wants new deals for Arjen Robben and Ivica Olic at the end of the season.

Both players come out of contract when the Bundesliga season finishes, with a range of suitors linked with Olic.

Robben is more likely to sign a new deal for Bayern, however.

“Robben says that, according to him, nothing stands in the way of him prolonging the contract,” Heynckes said.

“I also said a couple of weeks ago that it would be important to extend his contract.”

“I find we need to look at the next couple of months closely and then we can always decide whether we want to offer him (Olic) a new contract or not.”

“In my view, there isn’t much that stands in the way of him getting a new contract. He has got something that not all the players have, an ability to get stuck in and to fight. On top of that he always positions himself where a striker should be to score goals.”

Olic has been attracting plenty of interest and may be someone who does depart Bayern.

But Heynckes hinted at new arrivals in the summer, insisting that for Bayern to achieve their aim of winning the Champions League that they must keep adding to their squad.

“Even a club like Barcelona that has dominated European football over the past couple of years have bought players to become even stronger,” he said.

“That should also be the method at Bayern Munchen. Every year, (we buy) one or two top players, meaning that we will always become better and then we will capture the European crown one day.”

Mon 9 January, 2012

Sir Alex Ferguson has backed Wayne Rooney over his role in Vincent Kompany’s sending off on Sunday.

City boss Roberto Mancini claimed that Rooney had put referee Chris Foy under pressure to dismiss City captain Kompany after his two-footed tackle on Nani, following which the Red Devils went on to grab a 3-0 half-time lead in the FA Cup third-round clash.

While Ferguson said players appealing for red cards was an “unfortunate part of our game”, he insisted the City defender would have been dismissed for his “reckless challenge”.

“I have no concerns about the behaviour in that respect because to my mind it was a reckless challenge and Nani is a very lucky boy because he didn’t get a bad injury,” Ferguson said at the FIFA Ballon d’Or gala in Zurich on Monday.

“I have no complaints about Wayne, I don’t think it was unacceptable what he did. I think it was a natural reaction to a bad challenge from an opponent.”

“But I can understand where Roberto’s coming from because that’s what happens with players today, they all appeal for penalties or players to be sent off, it’s an unfortunate part of our game.”

Ferguson was also bullish about the rest of the Premier League season, suggesting that United are ready to challenge City.

“We have a big challenge from Manchester City but that’s not a problem for Manchester United; we have faced these challenges for many years,” he said.

“It doesn’t matter where it comes from: Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool or Tottenham, and Manchester City are a very good team.”

“We know it’s going to be a big, big fight towards the end of the season.”

Mon 9 January, 2012

Juventus are on the verge of signing Uruguay international Martin Caceres from Sevilla, according to reports in Italy.

The Serie A outfit has reportedly been in protracted talks with Sevilla about a transfer for the defender during the January transfer window.

They are keen to add some more depth to their squad, but Sevilla sporting director Ramon Rodriguez has stressed Juventus will have to increase their offer in order to sign Caceres.

According to Tuttosport, Juve are now reportedly ready to meet the La Liga club’s demands and will send a delegation to Spain in the upcoming days to complete talks.

The 24-year-old defender had a spell at Juventus during the 2009/10 season when on-loan from Barcelona, and Caceres is said to be eager to return to Turin on a permanent basis this time around.

Caceres’ contract with Sevilla runs until June 2015, and a transfer fee in the region of 10 million euros could be needed to lure him away from the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan.

Mon 9 January, 2012

caceres y juve (1)

AC Milan boss Massimiliano Allegri hailed his team for making a challenging 2-0 Serie A win over Atalanta look easy on Sunday.

A Zlatan Ibrahimovic penalty and Kevin-Prince Boateng’s 82nd-minute sealer were enough for the league leaders to maintain top spot.

Allegri praised his team for their performance against the promoted Atalanta, who are 13th but would be sitting higher if not for a six-point pre-season deduction.

“It was an entertaining and physical game. Atalanta could’ve caused us problems on the counter and that proved to be the case, but my lads adapted very well in midfield,” Allegri said after the win.

“The team fought hard and made a very difficult test seem simple. It was important to win coming back from the winter break and we achieved that.”

Despite reports suggesting Allegri’s relationship with forward Alexandre Pato had broken down, the Brazilian started before being substituted for countryman Robinho.

Allegri said he was pleased with the 22-year-old’s performance, and added his side were looking forward to the derby against Inter next Sunday.

“I am happy with Alexandre Pato’s performance, as he earned a penalty and created several chances, having also hit the woodwork,” he said.

“I like Kevin-Prince Boateng in midfield and began using him there when he first arrived. Next up is the derby with Inter and we hope to make it four wins in a row.”

The Italian coach was remaining tight-lipped about Manchester City forward Carlos Tevez, who is said to have agreed to personal terms with the Serie A champions.

“I am not accustomed to discussing players belonging to other teams. It is only normal to admire Tevez, as he is a champion anyone would like to train,” Allegri said.

“At the moment he is at Manchester City, so I’d have nothing to say to him.”

Mon 9 January, 2012

allegri ibrahimovic penalty (1)zlatan woodwork (1)

Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola has insisted that his side are still in the race for the La Liga title after Sunday’s 1-1 draw against Espanyol.

A late Alvaro goal denied Barca of the three points against their Catalan rivals after Cesc Fabregas had given his side the lead after 16 minutes.

The draw puts the Spanish champions five points behind Real Madrid, but Guardiola said that Barca are still in contention for the league trophy.

“La Liga is not over yet, I do not think a significant part of the league has slipped away from us,” he told reporters after the match.

“There are many matches left; we have a very good team above us, but they have very difficult away matches ahead.”

“Our only goal is to look at ourselves, continue doing the good things we did today and improve the things we did not do so well.”

The 40-year-old did not wish to comment on Raul Rodriguez’s alleged handball inside Espanyol’s area in the dying stages of the match, and said that the referee’s decision not to award a penalty cannot justify the result.

“We have to overcome our mistakes and the things that did not go our team’s way,” Guardiola added.

“We have to look at what we can do, not what the referees do. At Barcelona we have to do it this way and we will continue doing it like this.”

Mon 9 January, 2012

Hamburg defender Jeffrey Bruma insists that he is not thinking about returning to his parent club Chelsea at the end of the season.

The Netherlands international joined the Bundesliga side from Chelsea at the start of the 2011-12 campaign on a two-year loan deal, but the Premier League outfit have the option to recall him in the summer of 2012.

Nevertheless, if it is up to Bruma, he will not return to Stamford Bridge at the end of this season as he is happy with life in Germany.

“I am not even thinking about returning to Chelsea right now. I am feeling very well at HSV. The club has a lot of faith in me and everything is great here. Playing in the reserves at Chelsea again wouldn’t work,” Bruma told Hamburger Morgenpost.

The 20-year-old centre-back has developed into a key player at Hamburg and has made 12 Bundesliga appearances so far.

Sun 8 January, 2012